The use and misuse of statistics or collections of data (a big difference) is an ongoing issue in the tracking of racism and antisemitism in the Australian Jewish community. Here is a recent opinion (Dec 6) 2024, published in Pearls and Irritations.
“It is very unfortunate that the new Executive Council of Australian Jewry Report, Anti-Jewish Incidents in Australia 2024 is marred by fundamental flaws, accidental or otherwise. This problem is in line with other reports emerging from the pro-Israel lobby, reports that get considerable media coverage.
Without evidence, the report states that “the Hamas massacre in Israel on 7 October 2023 acted as a signal, a green light, for many Islamists and Left-wing (sic) extremists that it was open season on Jews as evidenced by the overt hatred and the surge in the number of incidents. October 7 emboldened many to act on their hatred of Jews.”
While the assertion may be true of Islamists, the assertion that left-wing extremists are the same as Islamists and antisemitic is almost certainly contestable. They may be extremely anti-zionist and at times politically deluded, but this should not be equated with antisemitism. The terms “green light” and “open season” make it seem in fact that there is some sort of unrestrained Jew hunt going on beyond Islamists and the extreme left. This is not true.”
Follow the link above for the full text.
